Church Communiqué on Reconciliation and Peace Building Consultation

A communiqué on reconciliation and peace building consultation has been produced by the Church of Melanesia.

The communiqué is the product of four days of consultation on reconciliation and peace building workshop on the theme: "Healing Past Hurts: A way forward for the Church of Melanesia in the Ministry of Reconciliation and Peace-making".

The workshop held from 28th April to 1st of May 2008 brought together 90 members of the church of Melanesia who met in a four-days-consultation workshop.

The consultation process was able to bring together participants from the areas in the country that were seriously affected by the ethnic crisis of 1998- 2002.

Participants included bishops, clergy, the church's four religious communities, women, youth, chiefs, laymen, ex-militants and ex-police, as well as Provincial office staff, the bishops of the other dioceses in the Solomon Islands and representatives of the Solomon Islands government.

A two-day listening process began with presentations by groups within the consultation: the Dioceses of Central Solomons, Central Melanesia and Malaita; women, youths, men's and women's religious communities, ex-militants and their representatives, traditional chiefs, and the Solomon Islands Government. The presentations were all discussed in small mixed groups.

The consultation was given financial support by the Community Sector Program of AusAID, for which the Church of Melanesia extends it thanks.

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